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This chapter discusses the different stages of the hiring process while grounding the discussion using the cultural competency conceptual framework (Terrell & Lindsey, 2009). The chapter concludes with recommendations for school districts and future research. One

interviewee, Adam Isabella, Associate Superintendent of High Schools shared, “The skillsets that are needed will change over time, with the different populations of students, or changes in the neighborhood, or conditions, or the need of the students themselves,” which is a characteristic of using a single case study. The idea of needed skillsets will change over time reflecting changes in the racial or ethnic make-up of the students as well as changes in educational ideologies.

The purpose of this study was to examine how one school district advertises for, recruits, and hires school principals for cultural proficiency through the lens of a cultural competency conceptual framework (Terrell & Lindsey, 2009). The research was grounded in this cultural competency conceptual framework. The following research question and sub-questions were addressed:

1. In a school district emphasizing cultural competence, what hiring practices are used for culturally competent school leaders?

a. What are the hiring procedures included in advertising, recruitment, screening, interview, and selection of principals of the school district?

b. What culturally competent knowledge, skills, and dispositions do school district representatives use when hiring principals?

These research questions provided insight to better understand the hiring process one school district, Texas ISD, uses to ensure effective school leaders who meet the needs of the students and community are selected and hired.

Terrel and Lindsey’s Cultural Proficiency Continuum (2009) was used as the conceptual framework for this research study. The continuum (see Figure 5) served as a guide to identify the components of the hiring process. This guide was used to not only identify elements present in the process, but to also develop recommendations from the findings for future research.

Cultural Proficiency Continuum

Cultural Destructiveness Cultural Incapacity Cultural Blindness Cultural Pre- Competence Cultural Competence Cultural Proficiency

Note. Adapted from Terrell, R. D., & Lindsey, R. B. (2009). Culturally proficient leadership: The personal journey begins within. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press.

Figure 5. Cultural Proficiency Continuum

Transition

The changes the district has experienced in becoming open to the conversation of race and equity has impacted their hiring process through a multitude of factors within the last five years. The superintendent was employed by Texas ISD in 2014, during a time when the Texas Civil Rights Project led to the district completing an Equity Self-Assessment. The community was having conversations around the academic achievement gap between minority and majority students, yearly teacher turnover which was around 800, variances between the demographic profile of teachers compared to students served by the district, school suspension rates, etc. All of this led to the school board and superintendent becoming involved in these conversations. The district’s openness regarding cultural proficiency is evidenced by the manner in which the school district has adapted and applies their hiring practices.

Jose Dante, Associate Superintendent of Elementary Schools, shared, “schools go through different iterations over the course of time.” The “fit” the campus is looking for in the

profile created and in the moment of the interview process may be different over time. An example shared was if the campus in need a principal is a turnaround school the interview committee would be looking for a turnaround principal who has been successful in getting schools out of their low status. A turnaround school is defined as one that is at the bottom and academically struggling.

Recruitment

Recruitment for Texas ISD is about being strategic and purposeful through the decisions they make in advertising for and recruiting candidates. The conversation of diversity and differing cultural groups began in the pathways created by the school district and partnerships with neighboring universities. Malone and Caddell (2000) discussed the ability to recruit and hire transformative leaders begins by identifying transformative teachers. Texas ISD implements this belief as part of their vision. The district, while keeping in mind EOC regulations,

intentionally includes the race and ethnicity of their students as part of their thought processes as they recruit individuals to their district as teachers and later administrators. They demonstrate cultural competence throughout the recruitment practices of their hiring process. The cultural competence identification within each section of the hiring process is outlined in Figure 2. The district actively searches for candidates who represent their student racial make-up. In addition to the racial and make-up they look for equity-focused individuals who will not only accept but will also promote the diversity of students and community. University partnerships, as shared by one interviewee, join with the district to increase the focus on equity and social justice in

preparing their leaders. This type of university program aligns with Hernandez and Kose (2012), and Herrity and Glasman’s (2010) stance on preparation programs preparing school leaders who are focused on equity, diversity, and social justice. The urban context and location of the school

district facilitates the ability to select candidates from these selected and prestigious university programs.

Documents

The job description postings, leadership framework, and principal profile however, had limited evidence of cultural competence. Nonetheless, although limited, the statements focused on equity and the diversity of the student and community populations in their respective schools. The terms race, ethnicity, or color were not found in the documents. Regardless, the importance of being equity-focused was an overarching theme in the documents and in the interviews which these documents guide.

Recruitment:

• Partnerships: Universities, Professional Conferences, Relationships

• Internal Pathways

Cultural Competence

Selection: Principal Profile Created using Leadership Framework and Principal

Portrait

• Parents/Community Meeting

• Faculty and Staff Meeting

Cultural Competence

Advertising:

• Job Posting Position: School District Website

• Media: LinkedIn

• Word of Mouth

Cultural Blindness

Screen:

Step 1

• Application: Pool OR Specific Position

• Resume

• References

Step 2: Virtual Online Interview

Step 3: Assessment Center Activities (new 2019-2020 positions) Step 4: Vertical team committee reviews information from steps 1-3

Step 1: Cultural Blindness

Step 2-4: Cultural Competence

Interview:

• Formal 45minutes Interview Committee: 6 candidates + 1 alternate

• 6-8 Interview Questions

• Identify 3 finalist candidates to move forward with round 2 of interview

Cultural Competence

Figure 6 (continued)

Finalist Interview:

• Formal Interview: 3 finalist candidates

• Interview Questions

• Identify 1 recommendation

Information Not Gathered

School Board:

• Finalist recommendation submitted

• Board Packet

Cultural Competence

Screening

The initial stages of the screening process in searching for principals included principal certification, administrative experience, and no criminal history. None of these reflect

components of cultural competence but rather focus on the cultural blindness of the cultural proficiency continuum. In screening candidates, cultural competency was reflective in the school district’s process based on the interview process during which candidates have an opportunity to demonstrate a clear mindset in valuing diversity. Patricia Saldivar, Director of Leadership Development, shared there is an attempt to “match between leaders and students.” Dalia Tyler, Executive Director of Talent Acquisition and Development also stated,

And we are persistently looking at reflecting the diversity of our students and continue to actively pursue folks for positions that can reflect the diversity of our students. But let me say both with that and with sort of EOC regulations, et cetera. We are not only aspire to, but really want to require that we have folks who have that sense of cultural proficiency and inclusiveness and equity mindedness, which is not only defined obviously by a particular background of an individual ethnically.

The materials used by the school district to create their job descriptions follow the Professional Standards of Educational Leaders 2015 (National Policy Board for Education Administration, 2015). The same process is evidenced by research for other school districts. The standards

themselves list one domain that focuses on equity and cultural responsiveness. This supports the school district’s stance on ensuring the equity focused individual.

Interview

The principal profile drives the screening of the vertical team, interview committee, and questions that are asked during the interview committee. The principal profile uses a cultural competence lens through which Texas ISD purposefully seeks candidates who are equity-

focused to support the success of all their students. The interview committee is different than the superintendent interview committee. Lack of collected research focused on the superintendent interview does not lend itself to generalizations about cultural competency within the continuum. The principal profile created uses the leadership framework and principal portrait in which

reference is made to being equity-focused.

Selection

The findings in the study confirmed Longoria and Manganaro’s (2012) research. Their study was conducted on chief administrative officer (CAO) approval of Texas residents which suggested there are other factors that are more critical as predictors of CAO approval than race and representation. This research study confirmed influences of the candidate’s mindset and beliefs about cultural equity impact candidate selection. Cultural competencies were reflective in the selection of candidates. The candidate’s race or ethnicity was a focus in the screening process however, the statements about being equity-focused were what drove the interview committees’ decisions in selecting candidates. These statements could be made about the screening process of the virtual online interviews, the assessment center, or the interview

committees. These opportunities provide Texas ISD with multiple experiences in which they can get to know the candidate and their views in differing contexts. Sampson’s (2019) research

involving a qualitative multiple case study of three school districts in the western US evaluated how Latinx school board members address educational equity in the context of English

Language Learners (ELLs). Findings suggested the Latinx school board members used the following to inform their decisions: family, identity, and encounters with inequities (Sampson, 2019). The research study confirmed how the school district used the principal profile created with faculty, staff, parents, and community to make an informed decision while screening, interviewing, and selecting a principal candidate.

Additional Layers

The district level leaders who participate in the interview committees have previously participated in cultural proficiency training including the vertical team principals, associate superintendents, and superintendent. The interviewees mentioned attending these trainings increased their focus on cultural proficiency. Through this learning opportunity, the district leadership has created an advantage for Texas ISD and their focus on equity-driven educators. The trainings have, whether intentional to or not, framed the lens of the individuals taking part in the hiring process. These leaders have the benefit of being able to identify the skill set needed for culturally competent leaders by listening to and evaluating the responses provided by candidates.

The conversations surrounding equity and diversity were grounded in cultural competency by institutionalizing cultural knowledge within the school district. The

superintendent was mentioned in multiple interviews. Participants specifically discussed his receptivity to ideas and questions, and the fact that his vision ensures the leadership traits and characteristics are considered in the hiring and screening processes. Adam Isabella, Associate Superintendent of High Schools, shared,

He [The Superintendent] also challenges us to ... he monitors carefully, and so do we, the ethnic makeup of the core team, the principal core. Ensure that we're not lopsided one way or another, that we do have a number of great educators from all different groups, male, female, and ethnic groups, racial groups. I think that's a great place to work. When you have that kind of diversity. I think diversity of thought, as well as diversity of experience, really does make good decision making.

Diversity of experience and diversity of gender are not necessarily reflective of cultural

competency to address different cultural groups or practices. Although diversity can take many forms cultural competency focuses on the acceptance and respect for differences in cultures. As the principal sets the tone for the campus, the superintendent sets the tone and the vision for the district. The Texas ISD superintendent has made it a clear focus for the school district to be culturally proficient which has impacted the hiring decisions of the school district.

Some interviewees mentioned parent, community, board, or district politics that

sometimes try to influence portions of the hiring process. Political implications may include a member of the committee already having a set list of candidates they would like to see

interviewed. The individuals from the list may be added to the interview list for a committee interview. These individuals may have applied directly to the applicant pool and not directly to the individual school or these individuals could be identified as individuals who may be “ready” for the principal position. Applying to an individual school may show the committee the

individual has a genuine interest in the school itself while applying to the generic pool has the advantage of being added to the assessment center process.

As mentioned previously, not only may committee members have specific candidates in mind, parents or committee members serving on the interview committee may have their own

political agendas. A parent or committee member may have their own private agenda based on an identified need for the campus. For example, if the person has a student who is gifted and talented the focus they desire from a principal may be one who can support that specific program on the campus. If an interview committee participant believes the previous principal did not address something specific on the campus, the committee member would be searching for that in the interview. There was mention of community, board, or district politics in addition to

particular individual’s politics. Mark Garcia, former school board member shared, “School board members may have a strong opinion of the the candidate recommendations and may be vocal of their strong opinions.” The phrase “strong options” was not further explained however, the strong opinions could sway the superintendent’s recommendations when feedback is received from the school board. While there was mention of these differing politics, details of what these politics comprised were not shared.

Texas ISD Hiring Practices

Overall, Texas ISD operates at the cultural competency stage in the majority of their hiring process phases. The school district itself is reflecting on their practices and how to improve their current procedures. One aspect worth of note is the online interviews. The online interviews are different for many candidates and may not include the human interaction which has been the norm. The school district is addressing this need by creating a protocol support document for candidates. The district is also considering a learning walk with the associate superintendent at a different campus than the one being applied for, for the three final principal candidates. This would provide an opportunity to observe and further discuss the instructional views of the principal candidate, adding an additional layer to the interview process. The hope for this process is to obtain another data point on the candidates. This interview would take

place after the interview committee but prior to the interview with the superintendent. The committee is also considering adding “look fors” in the interview procedure to support

individuals who are taking part in the interview committee. The stance of how the individuals feel about this addition was not evaluated. After each hiring season the human resource department evaluates the effectiveness of their hiring process for the year. They collect

demographic data about who was hired for certain positions including the race and ethnicity of each individual. Texas ISD follows the same process of evaluating their hiring practices for school principals by sharing demographic candidate information with the school board.

When looking at candidates, the school district considers at the previous school’s data for the principal candidate applying for the position. The interviewees did not make mention about how this information and data analysis does or does not affect the candidate’s opportunity for the principal position. One participant mentioned the candidate may have principal experience in a non-Title 1 campus and could possibly not be considered for a Title 1 campus. The

informational data of the individual could “pigeonhole people” which was shared as a concern in looking for specific experiences.

Texas ISD’s commitment to growing their own is underscored by their efforts to establish pathways for community members who want to become teaching assistants. This idea of finding applicants within the community supports the research on growing your own. Dalia Tyler explained,

All the diversity we're looking for, [is already] within the room. We don't have to go to the Valley, we do, we still do, right. It's not about going everywhere, although that's important. But it's about building and growing folks who are right here, many of whom had credentials but just weren't sure that it was for them, needed that extra piece. And

then those people will be some of our strongest teachers. And then there'll be some of our strongest leaders and then they grew up or lived in these communities.

Texas ISD also has a pathway established for high school students who are interested in becoming teachers. These pathways have been utilized by a small number of Texas ISD principals who began their educational career as teaching assistants, progressing through the pathway to become teachers, later assistant principals, and now principals. Although there was no a direct identification of principals who came from the community, the reality that some principals have come from the community was confirmed in one interview. Given this focus on growing their own, a deeper look into the pathways and the individuals who have successfully walked these pathways is needed to more fully understand the effectiveness of growing people from the community.

The job description postings did follow similar findings from the leadership framework in that they included the same exact wording in both documents which led to the identification of initial and subcategory coding terms. Questions as to why three specific high school job postings did not make mention of the last three bullet points which encompassed the same information from the leadership framework remain. This point could not be answered as the document analysis occurred after the interviews. Further investigation is needed into how these job descriptions were created and what resources were used to support their creation.

Given that this research took place while this process was new and all individuals were newly on board with ensuring the fidelity of the hiring practices, it would be interesting to see, a